Coimbatore Medical College Hospital performs complicated surgery

Karuppusamy will be able to walk without even the support of any canes, thanks to the intervention of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

August 20, 2014 09:53 am | Updated 09:53 am IST - COIMBATORE:

K. Karuppusamy, a 53-year-old resident of Gobichettipalayam in Erode district, was experiencing pain in both his legs for the past couple of years. Diagnosis revealed a block in the aorta, the main artery in the body that supplied blood to different parts. It originated in the heart and extended all the way down to the abdomen, where it split into two smaller arteries to each of the legs.

On Wednesday, Karuppusamy will be able to walk without even the support of any canes, thanks to the intervention of the Coimbatore Medical College Hospital (CMCH).

After a CT Vascular Angiogram for arteries revealed the extent of the complication, the hospital’s Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery performed an ‘Aorto bifemoral bypass graft.’

Explaining the procedure to journalists here on Tuesday, the Department Head M. Vanithamani said that the aorta was surgically divided near blocked portion and a synthetic PTFE vascular graft was implanted. The graft alone cost Rs. 70,000. It was purchased under the Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme (CMHIS).

The four-hour surgery was performed on July 28 by a team led Dr. Vanithamani and comprising an Assistant Professor L. Senthil Kumar, two postgraduate students M. Chandramohan and J. Rohan besides two anaesthesia professors C. Anuradha and K. Shantha Arulmozhi.

Dr. Vanithamani said that Karuppusamy was one of the six patients for whom this complicated procedure was performed in the past 18 months at CMCH. Hospital Dean S. Revwathy said that smoking was the perhaps the single most significant factor causing these complications along with sugar and high cholesterol levels.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.